1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a fiber for constructing garments and the like and, more particularly, it relates to an open-sided fiber for constructing garments and the like which directs moisture away from the person wearing the garment and promotes rapid drying of the garment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a person is conducting and/or participating in strenuous activities, such as exercising, working, or participating in a sporting activity, the person tends to emit increased moisture from his or her body in the form of sweat. The garments worn by these persons during these activities naturally absorb the moisture. Without quick and proper drying of the fabric used to construct the garment, the moisture saturates the garment thereby substantially increasing the weight of the garment and presenting a potentially dangerous problem for the person in keeping his or her body and equipment warm and dry, especially in cold weather environments since if the moisture does not evaporate quickly, the user""s body core temperature drops potentially leading to hypothermia and even death.
In the past, garments constructed from a particular fabric, i.e., COOLMAX(trademark), E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company, were designed to direct the moisture away from the person""s body when used in these types of activities. As the person emits moisture, the conventional fabric of these garments directs the moisture away from the person""s body thereby keeping the person in a substantially dry state. Unfortunately, due to the construction of the conventional fabrics, the moisture is collected within and on the outside of the garment thereby increasing the weight of the garment and impeding the fabric of the garment from transporting additional moisture away from the person.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a garment which directs moisture away from a person and promotes quick drying of the garment. Additionally, a need exists for a garment constructed from a specially constructed fabric which directs moisture away from a person and promotes quick drying of the garment. Furthermore, there exists a need for a fabric constructed from fibers having an open-sided configuration, used alone or together with other types of fibers, which directs moisture away from a person and promotes quick drying of the garment.
The present invention is a fabric material for forming a garment to be worn by a user. The fabric material has a first side and a second side. The fabric material comprises a plurality of fibers with at least a portion of the fibers having at least one open side wherein each fiber directs moisture from the first side of the fabric material to the second side of the fabric material thereby moving the moisture away from the user.
The present invention additionally includes a method for constructing a fabric material with the fabric material formable into a garment to be worn by a person. The method comprises constructing a plurality of fibers, forming at least a portion of the fibers as open-sided fibers, and knitting the fibers together to form the fabric material.
The present invention further includes a garment to be worn by a user with the garment directing moisture in a direction generally away from the user. The garment comprises a fabric material having a plurality of fibers with each fiber being either a closed-sided fiber or an open-sided fiber.